I think it's been Erased
by BethZ
Summary: Hinata is known for her timidity and inability to overcome the things that set her back most. But no one has ever questioned why. It seems that's answered when she's attacked by a long-forgotten war time jutsu and suddenly she's not the same shy girl any more. She's Hinata, the person she was always meant to be. And with that, comes the confidence to get what she needs. Him. cannon
1. Introduction

**A/N okay, first naruto story, i hate the title too but i wasn't ure whether 'ITBE' or 'TPCP' sounded better. (The Pas changes people) but now im thinking the latter -_- someone review and give me thier idea, please. And i know the summary sucks but its the best one i came up with.**

**Please enjoy, and if your wondering, hinata is different but she's not the ****vicious phyco-bitch like in the 6th movie (dont worry if you havnt seen it, that wasn't a spoiler really)**

**I hope you like this idea, ive read plenty of NaruHina fics and i wanted to do my own. I'm pretty sure this is an original, as in i've never read one like this and im 99.64% certain it's not a cliche. 87.92%. I actually have no idea.**

**Anyway, Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I'm only doing this once, i don't own his beautiful creation, but i did... *shashkay... mmmmm* ****Spanish: Me encanta es Naruto, pero no hombre el espanol** **porque es muy dificil.  
****French: A la no oui la francias sac re difuluilt la don'te knoiw les anythingoui.  
****German: Sheiza!**

**Okay I'm done, please carry on**.

* * *

The birds above Konoha glided effortlessly through the air, streaking invisible tracks on the periwinkle blue of the morning sky. Ten twenty five, according to Tsunade's wall clock above the door of the Hokage office. The impatient woman sighed. She had approximately 2 years worth of paperwork on her desk and she had thrown all her pens out the window earlier in a rage. Shizune was off in the village to get some more, muttering something about Hokage tantrums. Tsunade had ignored her, but was now idly wondering why the closest place to get pens was in the village. The Godaime suddenly stuffed a manicured hand down the front of the shirt, pulling out a small flask that she always had nestled between her gargantuan assets. Despite the destruction of the village, no one seemed to need her, all though, she admitted to herself, she would only go into helping the building progression if she was asked to and/or her assistance was needed desperately. Niether circumstance had occurred as of yet and so Tsunade didn't get her 'hopes' up. What a great leader she was. She took a deep swig of the liquid in question. If she had known it would be this boring to be Hokage, she may had reconsidered taking up the position. She brought the silver flask back up to her lips.

"Hokage-sama!" The door burst open, smashing against the wall and screaming on its hinges. Tsunades's eyes shot open as she flung the flash out the window. "Hokage-sama! Shizune needs you urgently at the hospital!" the chuunin that Shizune had sent hadn't quite mastered the ninja skill of a mask of indifference, but it didn't matter to Tsunade. The fact that Shizune was calling her at all needed a sense of urgency.

Tsunade nodded. The chuunin looked flustered as he watched Lady Hokage brush past him, clicking the heels of her shoes on the wooden floor. Less than five minutes proceeding Tsunade's summoning, she was at the hospital and suited up.

Shizune met her outside the operating theatre, sweat beads glistening on her forehead under the overhead florescent lights.

"What's going on Shizune." Tsunade asked calmly, her brows furrowing.

"Team Kurenai suffered a casualty on their mission."

"Team Kurenai... their mission was to track a suspicion ninja, of course." Tsunade, though no one would have thought so, she remembered every Konoha ninja's name and all current missions.

"Yes, but it seems the intel we gathered on the ninja wasn't enough and it turns out that... that he was a high-ranking jounin with a deadly, ancient jutsu." Shizune said gravely. "NoriYaburu no Jutsu."

Tsunade gasped slightly. She knew this jutsu very well, a lot more than she'd like to admit, but of course Shizune knew that. The jutsu targeted the brain, shutting down each part of the mind separately, slowly and one at a time. There was no telling where it would start, however, not even the caster could determine that. It could start at the nervous system, or the communications centre, or the part of the brain that controlled the heart.

"Where's Sakura?"

"She's already working on the patient. I've told her everything about the jutsu." Shizune said.

"Who's the patient?" Tsunade asked, tilting her chin up. There was a high chance that whoever they were, they wouldn't pull through and there could be nothing Tsunade, or anyone else for that matter, could do about it.

"Hinata Hyuuga."

Of course. The one person with the most influential and dangerous family. Tsunade threw the operating doors open, cracking her knuckles.

* * *

"Kiba. Calm down, please!" Kuranai pleaded for the eighth time since they'd rushed Hinata into the hospital.

Kiba stopped his pacing and snapped his head toward his teacher and team captain. "How do you expect that to happen! This is my fault! If I hadn't been stupid and hadn't underestimated our enemy, Hinata wouldn't have had to jump in front of me and Akamaru to defend up." He threw himself into one of the hard hospital chairs and covered his face with his hand. Akamaru whined at his feet.

"Kiba, there's no use now of contemplating what actions you should and shouldn't have done to avoid something that's already happened. If you would like to do something productive, go home and consider wha you will say to Hinata-chan when you next see her. Your current actions, though you havn't noticed, are upsetting Kuranai sensei. You know she couldn't have come on the mission even if she wanted to, and I'm sure she partly blames herself for what happened." Shino said in a quiet but solemn tone, hiding under his hood and behind his collar.

"But...! That's crazy! She pregnant, there's nothing she can't do anythink about that!" Kiba argued loudly at the Aburame sat across the hallway and next to his sensei, who was looking a Shino with wide eyes.

"Exactly. And what can you do about what happened to Hinata now?"

Kiba sighed in defeat. He silently stood up and flitted down the hall, home, with Akamaru close on his heels.

"Shino, I..." Kuranai started, searching for the right words. Shino turned to look at her, but it didn't make much of a difference as no part of his face was visible. Kuranai smiled at her most mysterious and under-spoken student. "Thank you." Shino nodded and turned back.

They stared at the Kiba's empty seat in silence for 11 minutes and 47 seconds, according to Shino, before a pale, slightly unsteady girl wandered over to them, looking exhausted.

"Sakura!" Kuranai began to get up before the medic waved her down and motioned at Kiba's chair.

"Can I sit here?" She asked drowsily. Kuranai nodded fervently. Sakura practically collapsed into it.

"Hinata?" Kuranai asked after a few seconds when Sakura still hadn't said anything.

"Oh... Yes... Sorry..." Sakura blinked. And smiled slightly. "The jutsu cast upon her was designed to destroy a bit of her mind one part at a time, and start from anywhere in her brain until it shut everything down and she eventually died, much like a deadly parasite. Though Shizune and I had never come into contact with it before today, Lady Tsunade-sama is very familiar with it." Kuranai breathed out a sigh of relief. Shino sat unmoved. "The jutsu had almost entirely shut down all of Hinata's pain receptors but all three of us managed to fix what damage it did before attempting to destroy the jutsu itself. However, the jutsu had moved onto the part of her mind that held all her memories. We stopped it before it could completely erase all of them, but there will be significant damage. Theres no way to know for sure how extensive the damage is. Unfortunately there's also no way to tell which memories she's lost, be it her ninjutsu, or how to speak japanese. We'll only truly know once she wakes up." She smiles encouragingly at Kurenai as the older woman leans forward a little, searching Sakura's face for whatever reason. "Other than the amnesia, she's physically fine. She's in room 14b on the west wing. We expect she'll wake up tomorrow, but Lady Tsunade-sama has never treated someone who's memories had been attacked by the jutsu and so most things are purely guesswork. I'm sorry." Kurenai smiled in a motherly way. She knew that Sakura had probably stayed in hospital when she was almost unconscious so she could tell Shino and her personally about their team mate and student.

Kurenai stood up slowly and walked to Sakura, cradling her stomach. She bent down and lightly kissed a kiss on the stunned kunoichi's forehead in a way that only a mother could. "Thank you." Kurenai said softly. "Now go home. You've done more than enough." Sakura looked glassily up at Kurenai, a woman she'd never really connected with, only spoken with in passing. She smiled groggily and nodded, wandering down the hall in the direction of the exit.

"Tell Kiba about Hinata and go home. There's no point in staying with her now, but we'll visit tomorrow. Tell him that as well. Thank you Shino." Kurenai smiled encouragingly. Shino immediately disappeared and Kurenai wondered when it had been that her students had grown up so suddenly. She smoothed her hand over her stomach, walking slowly but with the unfaltering grace of a ninja. He smile had dropped once again, fearing for Hinata, worrying over Kiba's inner turmoil and contemplating Shino's sudden change of character. How much had thing's changed, and continue to change. After all, their village had been destroyed not two months ago by an organisation that they would inevitably have to go to war against. She wondered what _real_ damage it would do. She wondered who would die this time around.

But all thoughts on the matter evaporated as Shikamaru sprinted up to her, a worried flushed look on his face, like _she_ had been the one caught by the jutsu. As long as everyone had someone, no one would ever truly be destroyed.

* * *

He threw a pebble into the air again, attempting to kick it and succeeding. He watched it sail in a smooth arc over the rooves and into a side alley, between two of the fully completed buildings. He wondered where everyone was. Sakura was supposed to have gotten off work at the hospital earlier that day, though he hadn't really been paying attention when they ran into each other that morning, Teuchi had promised him a free bowl of breakfast ramen when he'd helped Ayame clean up after the lunchtime rush yesterday, so his mid was a little pre-occupied as Sakura ran through her day schedule for him.

Sai was probably on one of the multiple recon missions Tsunade-baa-chan had been dispatching of late, though he couldn't blame her, taking onto consideration the Akatsuki attack that had next to no warning. Anyone chuunin or jounin with long-range attacks that were not needed urgently in the village's rebuilding. He would do the same as her if he was Hokage, especially considered the incapicitated state shes been in. Thanks to a medical breakthrough Sakura accidentally discovered (she wouldn't say how) she had figured out how to wake Tsunade up. Considering how exponentially close they had become to electing a new Hokage, Danzo the 'martial' elder no less: a description Shikaku Nara had mumbled to Kakashi just before the Godame's awakening.

Kakashi was kami-knows-where, as per usual, but he didn't now what he would do with him even if he _was _there. There was no talking with the silver-haired jounin without tripping over his riddling metaphors and superfluous excuses, and he knew that sparring with him would probably cause a few damages to the already half built Konoha.

Bushy-Brows, Neji, Tenten and Bushier-Brows Sensei were off on a mission to protect the few merchants travelling in from neighbouring towns, as the merchants were crucial if Granny was to resurrect Konoha. They were a major source of income and essential to them, though very few were brave enough to enter the 'ruined' and 'unsafe' Hidden Leaf now.

Ino scared him.

Chouji wasn't too close, though he counted on him as an ally. He should probably become more friendly with the Akimichi however, and wondered why he wasn't already. He had gone through so much with him, after all. He slipped that at the back of his mind to ponder later.

Shikamaru was busy. Like always. He hadn't expected any other from his genius team mate and friend.

He thought briefly about searching for Kiba, but realised that he had been grumbling about helping his sister erect a vet for his sister the week previous, and that he would soon be going on some tracking mission on a ninja the Hokage was on guard of perforating the 'safe distance-zone' she had subconsciously set up (which was a large circle, the circumference twice that of the villiage.)

Hinata probably had something more important than him, and it was more than likely she was with Kiba on the mission.

He was over-enigmatic and resilient , but he knew when he wasn't wanted. He used to ignore that fact when it screamed at him as a child, but now he accepted that he needed to step back sometimes. But right now he was bored, and Sakura would most likely be at the hospital, so Naruto headed there.

* * *

Naruto didn't bother asking the hospital receptionist where Sakura, if she was even there, was. It was visiting hours anyway so no one would have a problem with him just walking in. Looking for the kunoichi would give him _something _to do, anyway. He checked the whole bottom floor in a flash, a half-an-hour long flash that is. He saw countless other medic-nin's that he knew were familiar with Sakura, but not her. Maybe she had already gone home after all. Well, he wasn't about to stop searching now. He took the second floor more slowly, taking long glances through each minute window at the top of the door. He cleared one wing still with no sight of her (there didn't seem to be that many medics up here), and so moved on to the next.

That is until he heard a blood curdling scream.

He shot off down the unexplored wing and stopped outside where the noise must have come from. Naruto couldn't help feeling that, even though he was sure he's never heard that scream before, it still sounded bone-chillingly familiar. He gave a fleeting glance at the place next to the door.

'_14b WW_'. He barrelled in anyway, abruptly halting in his footsteps when he saw the dark haired girl trying desperately the pry the locked window open with just her finger nails. His hand grabbed the girl's elbow, yanking her arm back before she could tear half her hand off in the window. Her head snapped around, her midnight purple hair slashing Naruto's face and dropping back onto the female chuunin's shoulders. Her pale eyes stared with such malice into the blonde boy's that he almost flinched.

"What the _fuck _are you doing?" Hinata hissed.

* * *

**A/N ooooh! yeah, i forgot. language waning^^^ I was so prod of myslef for only saying Naruto once in his little thought section, usually i feel like i go overboard on naming people when it's not nescessary just so EVERYONE IS COMPLETELY CLEAR WHO IS TALKING AT EVERY MOMENT. but i moved from that extreme to another, and i kinda liked it, but if you didnt dont worry, i won't do it all the time just when it makes sense. **

**Peace n love n ramen.**

**please review, it makes me happy. ( ° ͜ʖ ͡°)**

**BethZ 030**


	2. Congregation

**AN Hey! I hope you enjoy the chapter, its kind of long, 8 pages apparently, and I have another authors note at the bottom! Disclaimer is in the first chapter...**

11/05/2013

* * *

"What the _fuck _are you doing?" Hinata hissed.

Naruto released her out of pure shock. If he expected anything from Hinata at that moment, it certainly wasn't that.

"H-Hinata? I just- It's me! Naruto! Are you okay?" He asked, unable to get a single emotion on his face due to the frantic frenzy of them jostling behind his eyes, each vying for a spot.

"What?" Her eyebrows furrowed uncomprehendingly, though her scowl was still gracing her features. "I don't know you." she huffed out in a non-humorous laugh. Naruto, however, caught he flash of a squint, perhaps of recognition, flit through her eyes. It lasted half a second at the most, though, and then it was carefully tucked away.

"Of- of course you do Hinata! We've been friends for years! Remember?" He faltered slightly. "Why are you in the hospital?"

"Like I know? I don't even know where I _am_! What have you done?!" She took a step toward Naruto. "Kidnapped me?" another step. "Drugged me?" another step, on her tiptoes this time so their noses almost touched. "Something else?" Naruto was frozen in complete and utter confusion. This was definitely Hinata, she looked the same, had the same inflections in her voice, hell! She even smelled the same! Like lavender and chamomile. She was definitely the same Hinata through the senses, and Naruto was quite sure that he trusted himself enough notice a genjutsu when he was under one. So what the hell was going on?! He sensed her moving her chakra to her hands a second before she gathered enough to strike.

Without thinking too much upon the consequences, he grabbed her forearms and picked her up. Hinata's eyes widened in complete outrage.

"Don't touch me, you bastard! I'm a shinobi of the... I'm a _shinobi_ and you need to let go of me before I _snap your neck_!" She screeched at the top of her lungs, thrashing helplessly in the blond Gennin's hands. If he could have, he would have made a shadow clone right then and sent it downstairs or something, but he was a little preoccupied dealing with the struggling, traumatised kunoichi.

"I'm so sorry, Hinata." He murmured gravely through her torrent of profanities, and spun her around, hitting a point of the back of her neck all within the space of 2 seconds. She collapsed limply into his arms and he effortlessly scooped her legs up,gently placing her on the hospital bed. He pulled the sheets up to her neck, coving her hospital gown clad body and sprinted as fast he could out the door.

* * *

Her eyes fluttered open. Immediately, a shot of adrenaline spiked her heart and she shot up to a sitting position, head slumping forward, gasping like there was no air. She looked around, furiously blinking the blur out of her eyes. She didn't know where she was, but she had a feeling she was in danger. It looked... looked like a hospital.

_A hospital isn't so bad_

but something was telling her it might be. Probably was. Almost certainly was. It definitely was. It was a torture hospital, why else would her head feel so sore, and her shoulder feel dislocated. That was the only explanation. Is she was ill, her family would come to see her, but no one was in the fluorescent white and pale green room but her, and she didn't recognise the room. Her head whipped around at the sound of a dog's gravelly bark. It was coming from outside, reverberating through the window next to the metal framed bed she was on. She tried to move to look out the window, but a searing, stabbing pain that ran up her arm jolted her and she bit her lip. Ripping the drip out of her arm and yanking the bag and metal hook stand it was on at the same time, clattering loudly to the floor. She didn't care: she was about to get out of here anyway. She surveyed the scenery. It was sunny outside, and everyone seemed to be on the street. According to the sun though, it was almost 6 at night. She didn't recognise anything outside, the half-built houses with their red tiled rooves were unfamiliar, the dusty brown earth was unfamiliar, no one's faces or clothing was familiar and the large mountain with the immense faces carved into the side, though menacing, didn't ring any bells a all. She looked down to see she was a whole floor up, but didn't trust her chakra right now to keep her attached to the wall if she tried to escape that way. Any number of chemicals could have been in that drip, and one may have congealed in her chakra veins, rendering her useless. It could also seriously hurt if she tried to manipulate it, so she didn't try. She'd have to see if she could go out the door, on the other side of the room. She rushed over, ignoring the unsteadiness in her legs and powering through it. She peeked around the door slightly, catching site of a woman with short black hair and small pink pig clutched under her arm disappearing down the corridor.

She could risk it. Try, chakraless and disoriented, to sneak around an immeasurable amount of opponents. But no, not right now. If she was apprehended, she could put up next to no fight at all. Better to be safe and slow, she thought gravely. She dashed to the window. Digging her fingers into the edge and pulling. No. Again. Still no budge. Harder. Nothing. Fingernails. Naught. Harder. No!

The window, to her absolute despair, would not move an inch. She punched the glass, quickly realizing it was in fact plastic and she'd probably broken her knuckles. She screamed out loud this time, unable to control herself. She hooked her long fingernails around the window again, again. There was blood on her hands now and she heard footsteps. But she couldn't stop, absolutely could not.

_Pull, do something you haven't done, do something_

I have to

_I can't_

C'mon

_You can do it_

but my hands?!

_Stop, it hurts_

I can't stop

Before she could even notice the door had opened, a hand had grabbed her arm.

_I'm dead_

She bit back with the only thing that she could do at short notice. "What the _fuck _are you doing?" It worked as the stranger stepped back. He looked shocked, she noted. Good. She may have gained the upper hand for the moment.

"H-Hinata? I just- It's me! Naruto! Are you okay?" He shouted at her, his unfamiliar face blank. Did he expect her to know him?

"What? I don't know you." She said resolutely, though unable to suppress the sarcastic laugh that erupted from her trembling lips. What was this guy's sick joke. His azure blue eyes flashed hurt for a moment, but Hinata dismissed it as a ploy for her to fall into _thier_ hands. She couldn't help her thought that drifted through her mind like a ray of pale sunlight.

_He doesn't look like a torturer. Torturers have scars. He looks really nice._

It's just deception, without genjutsu. Something all ninjas possessed and by the look of the hitia-ate on his forehead, he was one, though she didn't recognise the village symbol superimposed into the metal.

"Of- of course you do Hinata! We've been friends for years! Remember?" His strong, unemotional voice faltered slightly, showing the fake confusion and pain beneath. And she knew this. He was just faking. Just faking. "Why are you in the hospital?"

_Oh, so he's asking about how much I know now, huh? Maybe he's trying to see how much he can bluff me into. Yes. Must be._

"Like I know? I don't even know where I am! What have you done?!" Hinata took a step toward the blonde _idiot enemy_. "Kidnapped me? Drugged me? Something else?" Hinata was now so close she was sure that her hair must be tickling his face.

_Now or never. Hope for the best._

She flooded her hands with chakra, envisioning a half forgotten technique. 'Gentle Fist' screamed it's way at her, but her eyes were focused on the boy. The boy's eyes widened, as he sensed her. He gripped her forearms tightly.

_I'm definitely dead._

She fought with all her might. Her natural instinct was to give up and submit, but another, louder part of her shrieked at her to push on. The loud recess of her mind didn't sound like herself, it sounded like... like someone else...

"Don't touch me, you bastard! I'm a shinobi of the... I'm a shinobi and you need to let go of me before I _snap your neck_!" Like she was going to tell him where she was from.

_Where am I from?_

Shut up, Hinata urged herself. Fight, yelled the incessant voice. Male voice. But who's...?

The man span her round and she realised that he had lifted her off her feet. He let her go.

_Run, don't give up. Where's your nindo, Hinata?_

"I'm so sorry, Hinata." Hinata's eyes shot wider than she though possible, though not because of the incoming impact, before there was a jab to her neck, and the only thing she could do was fall.

* * *

"SHIZUNE! SHIZUNE, I NEED YOU! WHERE ARE YOU?!" Naruto cried down the bottom floor hallway. Shizune shunshined almost instantly toward the sound of the distress. She was expecting perhaps someone with a life-threatening injury or someone carrying one who had a life-threatening injury.

"Naruto?" She asked the number one unpredictable, knuckle headed ninja, immediately on edge with the anxiety and terror in his voice. "What's wro-"

"It's Hinata!" The blonde grabbed Shizune's arm to motion her to follow him up the stairs.

"How did you know she was in the hospital, she only arrived this afternoon?" she asked, looking sidelong at him but continuing to follow the frantic ninja.

"I came looking for Sakura and then someone screamed and I went to go see what was wrong and then I found Hinata but she was trying to scratch her way through the window and she was hurting herself and I stopped her but then... she started acting really weird and she was about to attack me so I had to knock her out... What happened to her?" He asked in horror. Recalling it really crushed him with the weight of his actions, and hers. What had he done to Hinata to make her act out like that, acting like she didn't even know him?! But- of course! It had to be that.

This was the first time he'd spoken to Hinata since she saved him, and in turn the whole village, from Pein. He hadn't thought about it all that much, he thought ashamedly, as his mind had been preoccupied with his father and then Tsunade and then the village. How could he not have thought of her, in all that time! He hadn't even bothered to see how she recovered, if she'd even recovered at all. He had been such a dick, but, then again, he's never even talked to her before then either, despite how nice she always was to him. He's pretty much ignored her, probably making her very uncomfortable around him. He didn't know anything about her, he knew more about Chouji, and he barely knew the Akimichi. Naruto was pretty sure as well, that, if he had to for whatever reason, he had a 50/50 chance of spelling her name right. How had he let _that_ happen? His whole life he's looked for a friend, and he had gone and ignored a very lonely person during it all, he could now see. What a bastard she must think him...

"Naruto?" He looked up at Shizune. He had been ignoring her while he was thinking. Now they were outside Hinata's room and he had no memory of walking down the corridor.

"Yeah, sorry." He frowned at her, concentrating on the medic.

Shizune looked at him strangely. "Are you okay?" She asked, a hint of worry ad anxiety lacing her tone.

"Yeah, of course." He gave her what he though was a convincing, though fleeting, grin. "I don't know how long Hinata will stay asleep for, though..." his statement did the job he was to polite to say outright and Shizune hurriedly slipped into the room, Tonton followed her in and Naruto wondered when she had arrived.

"Could you send for Tsunade, please, Naruto?" Shizune called from inside and Naruto quelled his nervousness just long enough to create a clone and send it to the Hokage Tower, creating another aferwards.

* * *

The insect drifted unfalteringly along the breeze, to the roof of the Aburame compound where a young man was stood like a gargoyle, but with none of the grotesque features. In fact, he had no outward features at all. The statue held out his finger for the tiny insect and it crawled obligingly across his hand and into his sleeve. If this act held any significance at all, the boy didn't show it until a few minutes past and all that was left in the spot where he stood was a leaf, suddenly jolted by an air current, drifting unfalteringly along the breeze.

The man slowed down when he reached the threshold of the Inuzuka's. A wild haired, clan marked boy was already stood waiting, a large white dog standing silently next to him.

"She's awake."

* * *

She stamped another document. She still didn't have any pens but she had, she found, about 12 different stamps. It was all very exiting but as soon as there was a knock at her door, she dropped everything immediately to answer.

"Come in." Her voice rang out through the room.

Naruto, to Tsunade's surprise, stepped in. His face was grave and something... something un-Naruto-like was burning behind his eyes. She stood up and moved around her desk. Something was wrong. That was easy to tell. But something wrong that affected even _Naruto_?

"Let's go." The Kage said, following him.

* * *

Kurenai poured herself another class of orange juice. It was the only thing she _could _drink, after all, other than water. She looked out of her window, like she'd done other every time she took the carton back to the fridge. She wonders whether it was a blessing or a curse that she lived so close to the hospital now, after the rebuild. She was close enough she could practically hear when bandages were snipped or a syringe was compressed.

Taking this into account, she could easily hear the terrified, frustrated scream pricking the warm summer air embracing Konoha. She was out the door before the last tiny decibel had reverberated itself into silence again. The orange juice would have to be left until later.

* * *

Sakura rolled over in her half conscious state. She felt simultaneously guilty and content. Guilty because one of her closest friends was in the hospital and there was nothing she could do about it, and contented because her one of her closest friends was in the hospital and she'd done so much for her there was nothing else physically possible _to _do. Or, is what she thought.

_Tap tap tap._ It was a small noise. A noise above her head, the window. _Tap tap tap._ She groaned and rolled over, dropping ungracefully onto the wooden floor.

"I'm needed at the hospital, aren't I?" Sakura moaned face down.

"Yeah. And hurry." was followed by a soft 'whoosh'ing noise as the shinobi darted off of her window sill.

Sakura was on her feet instantly.

That was Naruto's voice.

* * *

"What do you think, Sh'kamaru? BBQ pork or the new ramen joint next to Training ground 22?" Chouji asked, for once taking a brake from his snacks.

"I dunno Chouji, whatever." Shikamaru sighed. "I'm gonna go check on Kurenai-Senpai anyway, see how she's holding up. I'll meet you there."

"Actually," Ino commented, slowing down her stride to match her idle team mate's. "we can tag along, if it's okay with you. We have nowhere we have to be, and your not gonna be too long, right?"

Shikamaru sighed again. "Troublesome, but okay." They shinshined to Kuranai's housing complex, one made by Yamato-sensei's jutsu so it was one of the higher quality buildings, and first erected.

"Shikamaru, Ino, Chouji. What are you doing here?" A voice from behind the trio said in a soft, yet clipped tone.

The three turned to see the pregnant woman stood on the rooftop next house over.

"Kurenai... Where are you going?" Ino asked, tilting her blonde head.

"I think... I need to go see Hinata."

"Has someone told you something?" Shikamaru replied.

"No. But I heard something, and it sounded like her, like she was in pain." The three younger shinobi exchanged looks.

"You're going to the hospital then, Kurenai-san?" Chouji clarified.

"Yes. I'm going right now. I'm just going to check up on her." The red eyed genjutsu master looked suspiciously at them.

"All right then. If you're not going to be long," Shikamaru said, flicking his cigarette out. "we can come with you."

Kurenai sighed, but there was nothing she could do, and what was the harm?

* * *

"Another."  
"You sure, Neji? We've been going for almost five hours straight. We've never done that before." Tenten asked worriedly, though nevertheless obligingly taking out a scroll with another century of shuriken sealed inside.  
"And that is what you are meant to do in '_training'_." Neji replied in the same formal, stoic manner he addressed everyone, but letting his demeanour slide a little as his mouth twitched into a reassuring smile at her. Tenten knew she couldn't ever say no to Neji if he had the ability to play her like a Nara in shougi. She rolled her eyes, taking revenge by slipping another scroll out from her pouch to use on him.

Or, she would have done, if Sai hadn't suddenly swung around the tree branch she was on and landed silently behind her.  
"Mrs Masochist. Mr Masochist." Tenten's reflexes kicked in and her fist flew at the uninvited's face. Of course, the ex root member caught it easily. Tenten sighed at Sai's still underdeveloped manners.  
"Mrs Masochist? Really?" She asked, jumped down the grassy floor next to Neji.  
"Would you like me to explain my reasoning?" It would have been a normal Sai comment, if it weren't for the fact he wasn't smiling or tilting his head to the side.  
Neji's brows furrowed. "No need, just give us the reason for your sudden appearance." He said, his voice clipped and his tone colder than usual. He knew something was wrong as much as Tenten did.  
"Your choice." Sai blinked. "It your cousin, Hinata. She's in the hospital. A mission went wrong but from what I gathered, she'll live."  
Neji was on the branch and holding Sai by his collar much faster than any civilian could track with their eyes. "What do you mean _'went wrong'_? And how do you know?"  
"Shouldn't you be going to see her?" Sai's eyes held her a detached chill that rivalled Neji's. "If it wasn't for me walking past the gates when team 8 arrived back into Konoha, you wouldn't know at all right now." Neji released him, not even daring to spare a though about the time that they probably arrived and the time it was that Sai was telling him now. Tenten, who had followed him into the tree in case she needed to intervene, suddenly gripped his shoulder.

The two vanished in the blink of an eye as they shunshined from the training ground and back into the village. Sai frowned. The Hyuuga didn't have to be so grateful about it, he thought sarcastically. Waiting a few minutes, he followed their path, straight toward the rebuilt hospital.

* * *

"LEE! HOW ARE YOU HOLDING UP? ARE WE GOING FAST ENOUGH FOR YA? AHA!" Gai sensei called at the top of his youthful lungs.  
"NO, GAI-SENSEI. I DO NOT BELIEVE WE ARE GOING NEARLY AS FAST AS WE COULD. I PROPOSE WE RUN TWICE AS FAST THE REST OF THE WAY AROUND THE VILLAGE!" Lee shrieked back, a determined scowl adorning his young face.  
"BRILLANT LEE! THAT'S THE YOUNG SPIRIT I LIKE TO SEE DISPLAYED BY PEOPLE OF YOUR AGE!" Gai bellowed, flashing his perfectly clean white teeth, seriously blinding a few unfortunate birds. "BUT, I DON'T THINK THAT'S FAST ENOUGH! HOW ABOUT FOUR TIMES AS FAST, TWICE AROUND THE VILLAGE. THAT WAY, WE WON'T WASTE ANYTIME IN OUR TRAINING, SO WE CAN TRAIN EVEN MORE!"  
"AMAZING GAI-SENSEI! I HOPE ONE DAY TO BE AS YOUTHFULAND SMART AS YOU!"  
"NONSENSE LEE! I THINK I CAN DEFINITELY SAY WITH THE UTMOST CONFIDENCE THAT WE HAVE ALMOST THE EXACT SAME YOUTHFUL POTENTIAL AS ONE ANOTHER!"  
"DO YOU REALLY MEAN IT, GAI SENSEI?!"  
"YES LEE. YES I DO."  
"SENSEI!"  
"LEE!"  
"SENSEI!"  
"LEE!"  
"I WILL NEVER FORGET THIS MOMENT!"  
"THAT YOU WON'T, LEE! NOW, QUADRUPLE SPEED!" The two green-beasts poured on the speed, heading off into the beautiful, 6 o'clock sunset.

"Aaaaah!" Tenten screamed as she was forcibly tackled out of her mid jump over the village/forest boundary by a boy her age with a shiny black bowl cut. Gai was a step behind Neji in catching Tenten before she crashed into the ground.  
"Lee, watch were your going." Neji spat venomously as the spandex clad ninja, desperately trying to right himself.  
"TENTEN! I AM SO VERY SORRY. I WAS NOT FOCUSING ON WHAT WAS INFRONT OF ME. MY REFLEXES ARE MUCH TOO SLOW." Rock Lee threw himself down onto the dusty ground in front of Neji who was holding Tenten bridal style. He sobbed into the dirt, quickly making it mud.  
Tenten laughed nervously, all too aware of the compromising position she was in. "N-no, Lee. It's fine, really! I'm not hurt- everyone makes mistakes! Ah he..." Neji put her back on her feet, apparently completely unaware of Tenten's bright red blush. "Well, yeah! It's nice seeing you Lee, Sensei, but me and Neji must be off, we're going to the hospital to visit Hinata but we'll probably see you tomorrow, no. We'll definaely see you! Okay, seeya, bye guys, gotta go, later!" Tenten said, dragging Neji toward their path again.

"WHAT?! HINATA SAN IS IN THE HOSPITAL?!" The weapons master winced. It was never a clean get-a-way with those two. Ever.  
"That's terrible news, team, but I know the perfect solution to all this!"  
For all _what_, Tenten thought, her inner-voice dead panning.  
"AND WHAT IS THAT GAI-SENSEI?!" Lee asked, enraptured with his teacher's words like always.  
"We must... GO TOGETHER AS SUPPORT FOR MISS HYUUGA!"  
"OF COURSE SENSEI! HOW DID I NOT THINK OF THAT?"  
Cause It's stupid, Tenten thought exasperatedly. **(A.N I right clicked exasperatedly and looked at the synonyms, and the top one was 'cheesed off'. I thought you should all know.)**  
"BECAUSE YOU, LEE, ARE THE STUDENT AND I, MIGHTO GAI, ARE THE TEACHER!"  
Certainly not a teacher of grammar, Tenten thought expressionlessly.  
But there was no arguing once their mind was made up and they thought they were doing a good deed, so Neji sighed, beyond worried about his sisterly-resembling-cousin at this point, and told them to be on their best-behaviour at the hospital.

* * *

"...and then I had to knock her out." Naruto threw his face into his hands.  
"Naruto, calm down," Tsunade replied, patting his back in an awkward motherly/leaderly yet nonetheless consoling manner. "it's perfectly understand-"

"Can you feel that?" Naruto asked, holding his head up.

"Yeah." Tsunade said grimly.

"What... is it?" Naruto stood up, trying to desperately place the feeling making all the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.

"That feels like an army and a half of chakra travelling toward us at an unholy speed."  
"A wha-" Naruto was cut off by the window at the end of the hall suddenly smashing into a million pieces and scattering over the chequered linoleum floor.  
"DYNAMIC-"  
"ENTRY!"  
"Lee?! Sensei?! Are you actually kidding me?! What did Neji _just _say?!"  
"Sorry Tenten, but no can stop the force of FRIENDSHIP!"  
"Have you ever even spoken to Hinata?"  
"Hey you guys! Tenten... _this mess_ is the shared-green-brain-cell's doing I presume?"  
"What gave it away Ino? And now just _guess _who'll have to clean it up?"  
"I'll help... Shikamaru, don't look at me like that. Pregnant or not, I'm still as resilient as any other ninja."  
"Kurenai-Sensei, maybe Sh'kimaru's right..."  
"Oh... Fine. I'm sorry Tenten, I can't help."  
"I'll get my insect's to clean it away."  
"Personally, I'd like to see Beautiful do some work."  
"Sai, another word and I swear..."  
"AHH! THE FLAMES OF YOUTH BURN BRIGHT IN THIS GROUP! IT MAKES ME SO ENLIGHTENED TO KNOW THAT THE FATE OF THIS VILLIAGE REST'S IN SUCH POWERFULLY YOUNG SPIRITS!"  
"Naruto Uzumaki, you fucking bastard... You _knocked Hinata out?!_"

Naruto's head snapped round to look at the congregation of his friends, now suddenly imitating stunned trout and flicking their gaze between the horror stricken Uzumaki and the Inuzuka with his acute hearing and immense auditory range.

"Kiba, I-" But the blonde boy, who was the the most powefult tailed beas's junchuuriki, who had mastered an A class Jutsu, was the only one in the world who could effortlessly synchronise sage mode, had single handedly beaten one of the strongest members of the Akatsuki, and saved every single person in the village from death and loss, could do nothing as a fist smashed into his jaw and he propelled into the wall, his guilt-ridden head cracking into the hard tiles.

* * *

**AN Hi again! Hope you liked it, I spent way, waaaaaaaaaaay long on it, so sorry the update took some time. I plan them in the notes section of my phone so when I type them out, I have no idea how long they're gonna be, so expect some eratic updates.**

_**And I said ERATIC, you at the back. You perv. You know who you are**._

**I hope this wasn't too long for you to read, but I have a vote thing for you to do in a review :P**

**Would you rather have a**  
**a) Long chapter but a while between each update**

**or**

**b) Shorter updates but less time (presumably) between updates**

**Thanks for reading!**

**(I realize I put that I was 'prod of myslef' in the last chapter. Well, im sticking to it. I'M DAMM PROD OF MYSLEF IF I DO SAY SO MYSLEF.)**

**Reviews are greatly appreciated**

**see you next time**

**BethZ**

**12/05/2013  
EDIT: Changed Gui to Gai, it seemed to really upset some that i spelt it that way. Sorry about that! All fixed now! Tell me if i missed any though.  
EDIT: Put in Line breaks instead of my nonsense words. i was going to put them in after i uploaded this chapter as the line breaks in my writing program don't cross over to here, so i put the words in, but i ended up forgetting anyway. Dont worry - You were never meant to be able to read them, whoever tried to ;P**

Thanks for all the critique!


	3. Situation

**AN: wut wut im back again! I'm late I know but thats just how I roll. My use is about to get fired. It turns up late and then fucks about whe it's here. Thas just a way of saying I suck at writing btw.**

**Review: Hinata had this wack-o jutsu placed on her and is believed to have lost some of her memories, but no one is sure which memories yet. However she seems to have forgotten who naruto and even herself are as she attacked him in the hospital. Naruto had to knock her out and is slowly realising that he's a douche for forgetting Hinata. But now shizune is on the damn case and all of the main characters who are still alive are in the hospital corridor . What will happen now? D:**

"_Kiba, I-" But the blonde boy, who was the the most powerful tailed beast's junchuuriki, who had mastered an A class Jutsu, was the only one in the world who could effortlessly synchronise sage mode, had single handedly beaten one of the strongest members of the Akatsuki, and saved every single person in the village from death and loss, could do nothing as a fist smashed into his jaw and he propelled into the wall, his guilt-ridden head cracking into the hard tiles. _

Naruto bounced up almost immediately, years of training acting on impact. He swayed slightly, but the fact that the hallway was cartwheeling not the reason. It was pure rage that filled him now. It filled him to the top, the cork holding it down pressed against it's limits. With no time for the other boy to react, Naruto brought his right fist back, throwing all his weight into a punch aimed at the Chuunin's face. The clenched hand never met it's destination as a green spandex clad leg kicked it away, sending the whole boy spinning slightly from the momentum. Both the Uzumaki's arms were then yanked behind his back and kept there by feminine hands with monstrous strength. Naruto struggled in her grip for a second. Suddenly a hand appeared out of Naruto's line of sight and effectively slapped him across the face, bringing Naruto to his senses. Naruto abruptly stopped struggling and almost sagged where he stood and Sakura allowed him to shrug her grasp off. Sakura and Lee went to stand with the other Konoha 11 and jounin as Naruto took a step back from Kiba.

"Naruto!" Kiba barked, Akamaru on alert at his master's side. "Do you have any idea what's happened to her? She was in the _hospital_! Maybe take your head out of your self-assured ass once in a while and take a look around! You knocked her out, while she was probably confused and scared. And Naruto, if you haven't noticed, which a selfish bastard like yourself probably hasn't, Hinata lo-"

"I know..." Naruto growled, dangerously quiet, eyes cast down to the floor. Everyone in the hallway was silent, watching and preparing for the worst between the Genin and Chuunin. Naruto's face shot up. "What do you want me to say, Kiba? That I'm selfish, and self-centred, and ignorant to one of the nicest people I've ever had the pleasure to meet? 'Cause I already know, telling me again does nothing." Everyone was rightfully stunned to hear such words from _that_ mouth, but a few had to manually lift their jaws as they glanced at a small shimmer in the corner of Naruto left eye. "I'm sorry..."

"Sorry isn't enough Naruto. Do you even realise that she put her life on the line for you a month ago?! Not many can do that for another person, and not only that, she confessed her feelings for you which was probably the most difficult thing she _could_ do. Second to saving your life that is, but personally I think it was a waste." Kiba spat and Naruto felt his words like a physical attack.

Suddenly, as swift and smooth as an oncoming arrow, a grey blur speared down the hallway. "Sorry I'm late, but I think that's quite enough for today, Kiba." Kiba stared hard at Kakashi, but saw something in his charcoal eye that made him grunt in indignation and reluctantly step back. Kurenai stepped forward, placing a soothing hand on the boy's tensed shoulder. Akamaru retreated with his master and curled into an unhappy heap on the floor, unhappy with the confrontation between his master and a friend. The silver haired jounin, his back to Naruto since his well-timed arrival, turned slightly. "Sakura, maybe you should accompany Tsunade into Hinata's room: Shizune's probably wondering where you are by now."

Sakura nodded and shunshined through the door. Tsunade took a more leisurely pace, glancing sidelong at the last Hatake, unhappy at being ordered around, no matter how indirectly.  
"Actually, Lady Hokage..." Neji called gravely. Tsunade, surprised, turned and stared at the Hyuuga. She was about to speak when she realised what he had wanted, and what she had forgotten. She nodded slowly.  
"We should go now." And at that, Neji and Tsunade silently slipped past the gathered and disappeared down the corridor toward the stairs.  
"Where did they go?" Tenten asked bemusedly after a few moments.  
"Official business. Now, to the matter of this crowded corridor..." Kakashi said, taking the role of leader.

Shizune popped her head out of the room. "It's OK for team Kurenai to come in now." As the three of them hesitantly entered the hospital room, (Kiba refusing to glance at Naruto), Kakashi spoke again. "I don't believe anything will happen now, so it's best if everyone goes home after a day like today." There was an immediate uproar, and Naruto snapped round to ask Kakashi how he could ask that. But Kakashi was gone, leaving behind the tell-tale fuzziness of a disrupted genjutsu.  
"He used genjutsu to get out of listening to us." Shikamaru sighed. "Troublesome..."  
"But I won't leave Hinata-sama!" Lee proclaimed, keeping his voice down somewhat but still sounding pretty hyped.  
"Well done Lee! Staying by your friend and comrade's side while they cannot defend themselves shows true reliability and self-sacrifice, and overall youthfulness!" Gai declared equally, if not more, enthusiastically.  
"And..." Shikamaru continued, sighing again. "though I hate to agree, I'm not leaving. Though more for Kurenai-Sensei..." considering what Hinata tried to do to Naruto. The silent statement echoed through the remaining group, though only six of the eight heard it. Naruto may have well have been slapped across the face. This wasn't Hinata's fault!

"No." The blonde almost shouted. "No, I... Lee, Gai Sensei, it'd be much better if you left."  
"But Naruto-" Lee started.  
"I mean, it might inspire Hinata's recovery, if she woke up to find her friends training, despite the fact that they were worried about her. It would show her what dedicated friends she has."  
"Yosh! Sensei, how could we not think of this?!" Lee's eyes went wide-wid_er_.  
"Well Lee," Gai's grin sparkled in the glow of the afternoon sun, "I had thought of this all along! Naruto, however, reminded me of the brilliance of my idea! Let us go Lee, and COMMENCE OUR ONE THOUSAND LAPS AROUND THE VILLIAGE!" Tenten struggled to contain her sweatdrop as the two green-beast's backtracked their dynamic entry and burst out the window at the end of the hall again, spraying glass fragments behind them like twin capes of water droplets.  
"Shikamaru. You don't have to worry about Kurenai Sensei or her baby. They'll both be safe,"Naruto grinned slightly, though still looking very unlike himself, Shikamaru thought. "Sakura's here after all."  
"Naruto, I'm not so sure-"  
"I'm guessing you weren't even planning on being here in the first place. There's no need to be. They'll be possibly one ninja against 7, maybe eight, including a Hokage, when she get's back. Go get some BBQ pork or something. I swear on my life nothing will happen." Shikamaru sighed in resolve. He nodded and mumbled a sinister sounding promise under his breath at Naruto. The latter chose to pointedly ignore him however and waved as Shikamaru shuffled non-committally down the hall - the normal people way as opposed to the green beast way.

"We're gonna go with him, Naruto." Chouji said, patting the blonde on the shoulder as he passed.  
"Don't want him drinking himself into an alcohol induced stupor like his father, or mine and Chouji's... now that I think of it." Ino tittered, grasping Naruto's shoulder lightly and then running to catch up with her team-mates.

Naruto turned his sight onto the dark figure who had stood completely motionless in a shadow after they had intervened earlier.  
"Sai, thank you for before." Naruto said solemnly.  
Sai smiled in that signature way and tilted his head. "My pleasure. But I must be going. Danzo-sama asked for me an hour and a half ago; I might not see you for a while." The root member then proceeded to walk away, stopping abruptly after 20 seconds of Naruto and Tenten watching him in curious fascination. "Goodbye." he shot back, like he'd forgotten that that was something people were meant to say when they left, and then proceeded to walk away in dead silence.  
"I think he's... coming around." Tenten said uncertainly, scratching her cheek slightly.  
"Sure hope so..." Naruto turned to Tenten. "Tenten, I-,"  
"No way Naruto. I'm not going anywhere wihout-"  
"I was _going _to say, you need to stay, at least 'till Neji gets back."  
Tenten suddenly shot him a look of deep disbelief, mouth open mid word, that ran a lot deeper than the fact he let her stay. But shook her head and quickly smiled with gratitude, leaving Naruto to ponder female overreaction.

The pair settled into silence and Tenten leant against the wall next to the blonde.  
"So, Naruto," She asked, looking sidelong at him. "How are you holding up?"  
Naruto slowly turned to her, and his eyes looked like that of a man Tenten had never met before. She saw despair and desperation, two things she had never seen close up in his face, and had seldom heard of him showing. Not since... not since Jiraiya.  
"How would you feel," he began quietly, "if you confessedto someone you _loved_ them, and then they didn't even bother dignifying you with a response?!" he ground out, his gaze never leaving the girl's soft brown eyes.  
Tenten swallow, blushing lightly. She never realised that this was what Naruto was beating himself up over. She had heard that Hinata had confessed to Hanabi about confessing to Naruto the day she defended him as best she could from Pain, but she didn't believe it; it sounded awfully far fetched to be fact from Ino's mouth. But what else could Naruto be talking about?  
"Personally, I wouldn't have the balls to." Naruto's head dropped a marginal fraction, "But, if I did somehow gather the confidence and tell someone I loved them, but I got no reply..." he froze, Tenten continued. "I certainly wouldn't give up on that person. Especially since it took so much effort to go through with the whole thing. Even if it was only a little, subconscious part of me, I'd hold on to the hope that one day, he would realise what I'd said to him." Naruto glanced out of the corner of his eyes and between his longer strands of blonde hair at the girl. She was staring resolutely at the blank wall across from them. She had a soft smile on her face that looked almost sad, but not pity for Naruto.  
"Tenten," he began quietly, almost whispering, "did Hinata always like me?"

There was a gentle breeze that swept over them as another figure appeared in the corridor. Tenten lit up immediately, Naruto noticed. She suddenly shot up to stand straight and her smile became warm and wide and her eye brows seemed to tilt up, as if she was waiting for him to do something. Naruto was surprised and very confused all at once. Mostly because he's noticed at all, which he was shocked to realise. He'd never bothered to try and '_analyse_' people's '_emotions_' and '_facial expressions_' and '_body language_'. Not like he knew what half of that stuff entailed.

Wanting to test out his knew 'ability' (Sakura would call it human consideration or tact) he turned to Neji. He may never have taken much time in reading people faces before, but Naruto was sure he's never seen so much emotion ever displayed on Neji's usually calmly-serious face before. Now he looked agitated and pensive and worried all at once.

"What happened? Where were you?" Tenten asked, her face falling after a moment.  
"The compound." He answered, staring gravely into Tenten's eyes. "If we're not careful, it's more than likely Hinata will be barred of her heiress title and all but disowned. And if it wasn't for her Byakugan, I wouldn't put it past the Hyuuga elders to go that far."

**AN ahhhh noooooo. Sorry its short, but my, I dont know whats its called. The plan of the story? Yeah, the plan of the story I made said this is what is in this chapter and there is no discussion. I havnt evn got to planning chpter 5 yet. The plan is on my phone and my phone is being a little bitch and long story short im making another excuse for why the next chapter will take so long. :) I have wasted my summer.**

**Tell me what you think if you want, I would appreciate it and if you ask a question or give me con-crit I will act upon it and/or reply to you fo sho.**

**Until next time.**

**BethZ**

**ps. if youve just found this story, and are worried about the rate of my updates, just add it to your follows and ill make sure to say what happened so that you dont forget over the long periods between my updates. Actually, take note of this even if your not new to this story.**

**Pps. I will finish this story if it takes till im 20.**

**ppps. If your there, hi rox. Thanks for reading that first chapter that one time for me.**

**25/08/2013**


End file.
